If you’ve been to the Maldives, you may have heard of Hulhumalé Island, and Hulhumalé Yacht Marina. The latter has been in development for about three years. Come the planned opening in 2020, superyacht specialists in the region expect more megayachts to be among the regular visitors.
Hulhumalé Island itself is manmade. Land reclamation started in the late 1990s, purposely to ease congestion in the Maldives capital of Malè. The capital city is just five miles (eight kilometers) away. More housing was needed, too. The city of Hulhumalé now counts more than 40,000 residents, according to government statistics. The government-owned Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is adding abundant facilities, too, to cater to an expected eventual population of 240,000 people. These amenities include a soccer stadium and a water park. A cruise-ship terminal is also in development.
Hulhumalé Yacht Marina is further among those amenities. Asia Pacific Superyachts, which has a team based in the Maldives, is keeping tabs on the development. Mohamed Hameed, who oversees that team, believes it “will be of enormous benefit to visiting superyachts and yachts.” Total capacity will be 300 yachts. The HDC is also ensuring a variety of services will be available at the marina. For instance, the Hulhumalé Yacht Marina will include watersports facilities, plus a yacht club. Dry-berth facilities will be included, too. As is the situation with numerous international marinas, Hulhumalé Yacht Marina will additionally have retail shops. Further making it attractive for arriving guests, it’s just a few miles from the international airport.
As far off the beaten path as it is, the Maldives does attract big yachts. In fact, Asia Pacific Superyachts Maldives says more than a dozen megayachts have used its agency services this year alone. Those yachts include April, Talisman C, Kogo, Liberty, Silver Fast, and Talisman C.
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